Process of drying rugs



e- 19 1- H. c. HARTENBACH, JR 2,265,071

PROCESS 0F DRYING RUGS Filed April 25, 1959 2 Sheds-Sheet l lvwenfvi" 671V ji ar J.

' 1941- H. c. HARTENBACH, JR 2,265,071

PROCESS OF DRYING RUGS Filed April 25, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 2, 1941 PROCESS OF DRYING BUGS Henry C. Hartenbach, In, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Proctor & Schwartz, Incorporated, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 25, 1939, Serial No. 269,993

3Claims.

This invention relates to the carpet and floor covering processing art, particularly to the drying of carpeting or floor covering units such as rugs, runners, mats or other pieces or strips of carpet or floor covering which have passed through a washing, bleaching, scouring, dyeing or other wet processing, and is particularly adapted for use by the commercial cleaners, manufacturers, or commercial dyers, of carpets, rugs, or other fioor coverings, collected indiscriminately from homes, ofiices, institutions, mills, etc., or manufactured by them, or dyed for the manufacturer. 7

The present application is a companion to the common assignees copending application of Alpheus O. Hurxthal, Serial No. 205,342, filed April 30, 1938, which discloses apparatus for quickly drying rugs, etc., of various lengths, widths and thicknesses, continuously, in progressive simultaneity, regardless of the respective sizes or thicknesses of the individual units, by first squeezing or otherwise extracting or evacuating excessive free moisture from the rugs, as a preliminary step in advance of final drying, and completing the drying in or as one continuous automatic operation with the preliminary extraction of free moisture.

The rugs, etc., of various sizes are fed automatically, directly from and as a result of the Preliminary squeezing step, to a fiat rigid supporting structure and maintained in a single flat plane during the drying in order that the rugs, etc., after drying, will lie flatly on the floor. The flatly supported rugs are passed between two opposed series of relatively spaced air jets or nozzles similarly distributed above and below the path of travel of the rugs, etc., to impinge continuous streams of air under pressure against each of the opposite faces of the continuous procession of rugs, etc., to reduce the drying time to a minimum. The nap of the carpet is raised, by brushing, after the rugs have been thoroughly dried, and the rugs are then automatically stripped from the supporting surface at the conclusion of the final step of the renovating process.

The object of the present invention is to apply a sizing to the underside of each rug, etc., during and as a part of the continuous free moisture evacuating and final drying operations, preferably intermediate the preliminary and final drying operations, and to anchor each rug, etc., firmly at a number of relatively spaced points around the marginal edges thereof, to prevent shrinking thereof as the drying progresses, and

through a pair of squeeze rolls, or through a water evacuating device comprising a vacuum extractor indiscriminately, and to hang the rugs over poles, or to suspend the rugs from poles by securing one edge of each rug to the pole, after which the loaded poles were hung in a drying room or carried by an overhead conveyer through a drying chamber.

It was also the practice to secure rugs to open frames around the marginal edges solely of each rug and to stand or-hang the framed rugs upright in a room containing heated air, or in which heated air was circulated. The frames in some instances had been made adjustable to take care of various sizes of rugs within relatively small limits of variation.

Th drying time, under the above noted practices, varied from 2 to 24 hours, depending to a considerable extent upon the manner in which the rugs were suspended, the efliciency of the air circulating means, and other conditions aifecting the temperature and humidity of the drying air. Rugs hung over poles during drying will not lie flatly after drying. suspending rugs from or hanging them over poles causes moisture to flow from higher into lower portions of the rugs, and has a tendency to cause migration of dye stuff from the upper portion of the hanging rug into the lower and/or intermediate portions of the rug, frequently causing disfiguration of the rug, particularly in patterned rugs. Rugs hung over or suspended from supporting poles, beingmore or less unrestricted, tend to shrink unevenly. This frequently distorts the rugs from their original shapes and dimensions.

Rugs secured to open frames around their marginal edges and placed in upright positions during drying are subject to damage by ye running from the high to the low portions; and are also subject to severe strains which frequently damage the rugs at their marginal edges, as a. result of uncontrolled shrinkage in the more centrally disposed portions of the rug during the at a number of relatively spaced interior points thereof.

Y Another dimculty attending the drying of the rugs on open frames, by commercial renovators,

dyers, etc. particularly, is that the rugs delivered oneafter another from the cleansing apparatus vary considerably in length and width, making it necessary to keep an extremely large stock of various sizes of frames on hand, or to adjust stock frames -to suit minor variations from standard sizes of rugs and, in some instances, to make up new frames to take care of odd sized rugs.

As the successive rugs coming from the washing, dyeing or other wet processing apparatus may vary considerably in size, a great amount of time is lost and an excessive amount of labor is required to prepare the washed rugs for the drying operation.

The method which constitutes the subject matter of the present and said pending application overcomes all the above noted objections. The

rugs coming from the-wet processing apparatus, one after another, regardless of their respective sizes, are automatically delivered from the primary evacuators or squeeze rolls, across a roll for.

' less of its dimensions, as the pieces pass successively to the feed end 'of the drying apparatus. The rugs anchored individually on the flat continuously moving perforated platform are then subjected to streams of air simultaneously impinging against the opposite faces of the pieces as they progress through the drying chamber, to complete the drying of the individual pieces. The final drying is effected, under this process, in approximately to minutes, as compared with the 2 to 24 hour drying time under the old method.

By maintaining the rugs in a single fiat, horizontal plane, during the drying process, migration of moisture and dye stuff from one portion of the rug-into another portion thereof, is eliminated, and the moisture, being more or less evenly distributed, is more readily evaporated by the drying air. In cases of rugs which have had a sizing applied to the back face thereof, prior to the drying operation, the sizing likewise is held in even distribution over the entire back of the rug during the drying of the rug in a flat horizontal position.

The automatic delivery and anchoring of the rugs to and on the rigid-moving support, according to the process herein disclosed, eliminates the time consuming manual handling of the rugs, the use of poles or frames, and damage and distortion of the rugs, common to prior practices.

The construction and operation of oneform of apparatus capable of carrying out the new process forming the subject matter of the present invention will be fully disclosed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional elevation of the preferred form of apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the rigid units of which the movable supporting platform is compos'edj Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 3, and showing a plurality of the indiplurality of upper manifolds 2 and a vldual rigid units of Fig. 4 connected together to form the endless supporting platform.

- The preferred form of apparatus, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, comprises a substantially closed casing I in which is-mounted a plurality of lower manifolds 3, 3.

The manifolds 2 and 3 are respectively provided with a multiplicity of relatively spaced air jets or nozzles 4, 4 and 5, 5 respectively. The jets or nozzles 4, 4 and 5, 5 are arranged to eject streams of air in opposite vertical directions toward a medium, horizontal plane extending from end to end of the casing I.

Arranged to travel in the above noted medium plane, in one direction through the casing I from end to end thereof, is a rug carrying run 6 of an endless conveyer I, the return run 8 of which passes in a reverse direction through the lower part of the casing I below the manifolds 3.

The conveyer I passes around suitable rotary supports or guides 9, II and I2 at and outside the feed end of the casing I, and around rotary sup- I ports or guides I3 and I4 at and outside the delivery end of the casing I. Between the rotary supports or guides 9 and I3, and extending from one to the other thereof, the carrying run 6 of the conveyer I is supported on and moves along rails I0, I0 located at opposite sides respectively of the casing I.

Distributed over the entire surface of the conveyer I, in lateral and longitudinally relatively spaced relation to each other, and projecting substantially perpendicular to the plane of the rug carrying surface of the conveyer I, is a multiplicity of pins I5. The pins I5 are adapted to be projected into the rugs supported on the upper carrying run 6 of the. conveyer I during the conveying of the rugs a: through the casing l.

Along an inclined portion 6a of the carrying run 6 between supports 8 and the entrance of the conveyer I into the casing I, the rugs are engaged bya press roll I6, which preferably is composed of or provided with a relatively thick layer of soft sponge rubber or its equivalent. This resilient faced roll engages the upper face of each rug :1: as it is fed onto the inclined portion 6a of the conveyer I. The relatively soft facing of the roll I8 firmly presses each rug 3: down onto the pins l5, projecting upwardly from the conveyer I, and thereby anchors the rugs to the conveyer I, in the manner above noted.

The rugs are automatically fed to the inclined portion 6a of the conveyer I by a pair of rolls I! and I8, which in addition to feeding the rugs to the supporting conveyer I, may effect a preliminary extraction of excessive free moisture from the rugs :r. The rolls l1 and I8 may form part of the washing machine (not shown) in cases where the washing and drying apparatus are connected in tandem and by which the washing and drying would be effected as a continuous process. In other cases, however, the rolls I1 and I8 may form complementary parts of the drying apparatus, for receiving the rugs a: successively for primarily extracting excessive free moisture and in addition, functioning as means for feeding the wet rugs to the conveyer I of the drying apparatus.

The rolls I I and I8 may be of the ordinary rubber faced squeeze type or may be of the hollow perforated suction type for effecting extraction of excess moisture from the rugs a: as the rugs are fed thereby to the conveyer 8.

Intermediate the press roll I6 and the feed rolls I1 and I I. the apparatus may include a sizing roll I! arranged to engage the underside of each of the rugs a: asit passes from the feed rolls II and II to the carrying run of the conveyer I. The sizing roll I! may be supplied with a sizing in liquid form from a tank 26, into which the lower portion of the roll I3 may extend, or the rugs 2: supported on the portions 26a of the bands 26 and causes the carrying surface of the conveyer I to be stripped from the rugs and the sizing may be conveyed from a similar tank 20 to the sizing roll I6 by a series of intermediate rolls, if desired.

The rug 1:, while passing down the incline from the feed rolls II and I6 to the inclined portion 6a of the conveyer I, is pressed into contact with the sizing roll It by an upper contact roll 2|.

The conveyer I is of such rigid construction that it will maintain the pins IS in definitely fixed spaced relation to each other in such a manner as will resist any and all tendency of the pins to move toward each other as a result of the rugs tending to shrink as the drying operation progresses. Thus the rugs are prevented from shrinking longitudinally and transversely.

The relative spacing of the pins I5, longitudinally and transversely of the conveyer I, correspondingly distributes the strains attending the shrinkage prevention over the entire area of each rug, whereby the strain at any one of the large number of relatively spaced anchor points is substantially nil. Such arrangement prevents tearing or fraying of the rugs around the edges thereof or adjacent any weak areas in the rug.

When a sizing is applied to the back of the rug and the sized back is pressed firmly against the carrying surface of the conveyer I, the rugs tend to adhere to the carrying surface of the conveyer, during and after drying. and if care is not exercized in removing the rugs from the carrying surface and from the pins I6 which project from the carrying surface of the conveyer into the body of each rug, the rug will be damaged in separating the rug from the conveyer. To prevent such damage the rug must. be loosened from ,the carrying conveyer and from the pins sub stantially at all points across the conveyer at one and the same time. In order to accomplish this result successfully and automatically, the apparatus is provided with a plurality of relatively thin, narrow stripping bands 25 of the endless type, which travel concurrently with the conveyer I in contact with the rug carrying surface of the conveyer, and between the rugs and the conveyer, throughout at least the full extent of the carrying run 60-6 of the conveyer I. The stripping bands 25 are arranged in laterally spaced relation to each other across the entire width of the carrying run 6 of the conveyer I, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2.

At the delivery end of the casing I the conveyer I and the series of stripper bands 25 are caused to separate one from the other and to move in planes disposed at an angle to each other, whereby the stripper bands 25 raise the rugs x from the carrying surface of the conveyer I and off the pins I5 which project from the rug carrying surface of the conveyer I.

For the above purpose, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the stripper bands 25 travel in a horizontal plane with the carrying run 6 of the conveyer 1 until the concurrently moving conveying and stripper bands arrive at the rotary support I3 of the conveyer I, whereupon the stripper bands 25 continue to move in the same horizontal plane as before while the conveyer I passes down and around the rotary support I3. This separates the bands 25 and the conveyer I and leaves the of the casing I.

pins I5 to be withdrawn from the rugs, as the rugs are advanced away from the conveyer I by the stripper bands 26.

Prior to the stripping of the rugs from the conveyer I the upper face of each rug is subjected to a nap raising operation, performed by a rotary brush 26 of any suitable type which brushes the nap in one direction as the rugs a: are advanced under said rotary brush.

During the passage of the conveyer I through the casing I, from the feed end to the delivery end thereof, with the rugs a: supported by the flat horizontal carrying run 6 of thevconveyers, the rugs are subjected to the impingement of jets of air upon the opposite faces respectively of the rugs, simultaneously, by the jets or nozzles 4, 4 and 6, 6.

The air jets 4, 4 and 5, 5 may be of any desired construction, in the form of parallel rows of individual nozzles or, as in the preferred form of the invention, the Jets are in the form of continuous slots formed between converging walls projecting from the lower and upper sides of the manifolds 2 and 3 respectively and extending rugs simultaneously, as the rugs are moving through the casing I from the feed end to the delivery end thereof.

The air ejected from the nozzles or jets 4 and I may be forced into the manifolds 2 and 3 under desired pressure by any suitable means. In the present instance, each of the manifolds is provided with a fan type impeller 21 which is driven by any suitable means such as an individual motor 28.

At each side of and extending from end to end of and along the casing I is a circulating compartment 26, which is separated from the central portion of the casing I, through which the conveyer I passes, by a vertical partition 30. The end of each manifold 2 and 3 into which the drying air enters communicates with the circulating compartment 29 at one or the other of the sides Air is drawn from the circulating compartment 29 by the impeller 21 and forced into the manifold 2 or 3, as the case may be. The circulating air may be heated by any suitable form of heating apparatus, such as steam coils, etc., diagrammatically illustrated at 3|, in each of the side compartments 29.

In order to complete the circulation of air the vertical partitions 36 may be provided with suitable openings 32 affording communication between the circulating compartments 29, 29 and the intermediate drying compartment in which the conveyer I travels.

In order to provide the necessary rigidity in the conveyer I, said conveyer is composed of a plurality of relatively fiat sections 35. Each section 35 is composed of a flat plate 36 perforated over substantially the entire surface thereof in any suitable manner, for example, as indicated at 31. Along its opposite, transversely extending edges, in the present instance, each plate 36 is provided with relatively staggered hinge bosses 38 and 39. The hinge bosses 39 of one plate 36 fit into the spaces between the hinge bosses 38 of the next adjacent plate, with a pivot rod 40 passing through the axially aligned bosses and pivotally connecting the sections 35, 35 together to complete the continuous endless conveyer I.

In the present instance, each plate 36 is provided with a depending transversely extending flange 4! to which is secured a transversely extending girt 42, for stiffening the sections transversely of the conveyer.

In the present instance, the pins l5 project through the perforations 31 in'the plates 36 and are carried by readily removable or replaceable angle bars 43 which are connected by bolts or other suitable fastening means 44 to the flange 4| and girt 42 adjacent one edge of the plate 36.

Each conveyer section 35 is connected by bolts, rivets, or other fastening means 45 to an attachment flange 46 of a chain link 47. The chain links 41, 41 are pivotally connected at 48, 48

veyer I. Before the rugs pass under the press roll I6, the rugs may, if desired, pass under a transversely extending guide plate 54. However, in some instances this guide plate may be eliminated and the rugs may pass directly from the rolls l9 and 2| or the rolls I! and I8 to the underside of the press roll I6.

and collectively form the side chains of the con veyer I. The axes of the pivot pins 48, 48 of the side chains at the opposite sides respectively of the conveyer l are in axial alignment with each other and with the axis of an intervening pivot rod-40. The rug carrying faces 12 y of .the adjacent sections 35 are thereby arranged and maintained in a single plane throughout the carrying run of the conveyer I. v

The pins l5, as shown in Fig. 5, project above the flat composite carrying face 11 of the conveyer l and the stripping bands normally lie on the ,carrying face 1,! of the conveyer 1, between the pins l5, l5.

As noted above, the bands 25, 26 travel concurrently with the conveyer "I and are supported thereby except at the delivery end of the easing l where said bands follow'in the plane of the carrying surface of the conveyer to a desirable distance beyond the rotary support l3 of the conveyer l, where said conveyer turns from said plane and thereby effects stripping of the rugs from the carrying surface 3 and the pins 85.

Beyond the rotary supports l3 and I4 for the conveyer l, the stripper bands 25 are supported by rotary supports 50 and 5|, as shown in Fig. 1.

Rotatably mounted on the pivot pins 48, 48 in the present instance of the side chains are rollers which ride on the rails 58 and support the carrying run of the conveyer with the carrying faces y, y of the sections 35, in a continuous single horizontal plane.

The conveyer 1 may be driven in any suitable manner. For example, either or each of the rotary guides or supports 9, I3 or M may be in the form of pairs of sprockets meshing with the links 41, 41 of the side chains of the conveyer and each or any pair secured to a single shaft may be driven by any suitable means from any suitable source of power applied to the shaft or shafts. 7

From the above, it will be clear that the rugs z regardless of their length, width or thickness are received by the rolls I1 and I8 and fed thereby in continuous succession onto the inclined portion 6a of the carrying run 6 of the conveyer 1 and are automatically pressed by the roll it onto the carrying surface 11 and the pins I5 of said conveyer l.

In instances where a sizing is to be applied to the back of the rugs; the rugs pass between the sizing roll 29 and the contact roll 2|, before being laid on the carrying surface 2/ of the con- The distribution of the pins l5, over the carrying surface 1! of the conveyer 1, rigidly holds therugs at a number of relatively spaced points over the entire area of each rug and makes the structure universally adaptable for drying rugs of all sizes having one dimension less than the width of the conveyer 1, which obviously would be made sufliciently wide to support any and all of the larger standard sizes of rugs or in excess'thereof.

It is possible also, to place a number of narrow rugs or runnersside by side, as well as end to end, on the carrying surface 1 of the conveyer l and such a plurality of narrow rugs would be automatically applied to the carrying surface of the conveyer l in the same manner as a single rug of maximum width.

As the rugs are advanced through the casing I by the conveyer l, the drying air is continuously' impinged againstthe opposite faces respectively of each and every rug, by the nozzles or jets 4 and 5 positioned respectively above and below the carrying run 6 of the conveyer 1. The air impinging against the opposite faces of the rugs, continuously, quickly dries the rugs, in from 20 to 30 minutes as noted above, the variation depending primarily upon the thicknesses of the rugs being dried, the thinner rugs drying in a shorter length of time than the thicker rugs which require a slightly greater length of time.

The drying time and the length of the casing l are determined by the speed at which the con'' veyer I is operated, which speed should be sufficiently high to take care of the rugs as fast or slightly faster than the speed at which the rugs are passed from the washing mechanism between the rolls I! and I8, and the rate of moisture absorption of the air impinging upon the opposite faces of the rugs'for each foot of travel of the carrying run of the conveyer l.

As the dried rugs pass from the delivery end of the casing i, the nap is raised by the brush 26, whereupon the conveyer 1 is diverted from.

the normal horizontal plane of the carrying run 6, while the stripper bands 25 continue to advance in said plane and strip the rugs from the conveyer 7 in a flat, dried condition.

If desired, the bands 25 may be continued to any desired extent beyond the delivery end of 1 the casing l, to function as a conveyer to deliver rolls, which corresponds to the width of the conveyer l; and with rugs of various sizes 'as well as various widths the rugs may be fed to the squeeze rolls in continuous end to end succession. A number of rugs would then be fed simultaneously from and by the squeeze or feed rolls directly onto the conveyer 1 in the same order and relation as they are fed to the rolls l1 and I8 and thus substantially completely cover the surface of the conveyer 1 from side to side and end to end of wrapped for r I the carrying run 8 thereof, the depositing of the rugs on the conveyer I being automatically effected by the rolls l1 and I8.

In the above case the sizing rolls I; and 2!! may be eliminated and if desired, the pins l5 maybe also eliminated; and the press roll l6 may be used merely as a flattening roll to insure the rugs lying flatly on the plain surface of the conveyer I or it may be dispensed with entirely as desired.

The rugs may be guided from the squeeze rolls l1 and I8 to the conveyer l by any suitable form of support'such as a plain flat table, a slatted table or by a series of rollers in lieu of the sup-' port aiforded by the sizing roller l9.

Under the above noted circumstances a plurality of various size rugs, strips, etc., may be fitted together edge to edge on the conveyer I in a manner to cover substantially the entire surface of the carrying run 6 thereof and lie loosely and flatly on the conveyer, while the rugs pass between the upper and lower series of air Jets and the action of the air being substantially above and below the rugs will keep the rugs l the conveyer by sizing applied by the roll I9.

I claim: l. The method of drying wet textile floor covering units which comprises flattening and supporting a wet unit in a substantially horizontal plane over its entire area, anchoring the unit to its support at relatively spaced points 'over substantially the entire area of the unit to resist contraction thereof and to distribute contingent strains throughout thewhole area of the unit, evaporating moisture therefrom, and retaining the unit in said flat anchored condition during said evaporation to eliminate gravitational displacement of migrant fluid from one into another region of the unit.

2. The process which comprises the spreading of wet carpet units flatly over exposed ends of a multitude of pins distributed over the entire area of a flat surface from which the pins project, pressing the units down on the pins into contact with said surface to anchor each unit at a multitude of points distributed over the entire area of the unit regardless of the shape of the unit or its position on said surface, and drying the units while anchored on said surface by said pins.

3. The process which comprises the spreading of wet carpet units flatly over exposed ends of a multitude of pins distributed over the entire area of a flat surface from which the pins project, pressing the units down on the pins into contact with said surface to anchoreachunit at a multitude of points distributed over the entire area of the unit regardless of the shape of the unit or its position on said surface, drying the units while anchored on said surface by said pins, and maintaining said surface and the units anchored thereon in a substantially horizontal position during said drying to eliminate migration .of liquid from one region to another of each unit.

HENRY C. HARTENBACH, Jn. 

